


balloons

by irisowari



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Angst, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Hurt, Killing Game (Dangan Ronpa), New Dangan Ronpa V3 Spoilers, Oneshot, Post-Game, Post-New Dangan Ronpa V3, Post-game Danganronpa, Sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-26
Updated: 2020-05-26
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:28:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,382
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24399517
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/irisowari/pseuds/irisowari
Summary: the survivors from the fifty-third killing game find a way to grieve the ones they've lost.
Relationships: Harukawa Maki & Saihara Shuichi & Yumeno Himiko
Comments: 4
Kudos: 36
Collections: Faye’s Favourites





	balloons

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to [Kei](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kamunamis) for beta-reading!

The three survivors had been out of the game for about a week. The portal had transported them into the non-fictional world, where they were continually approached and pursued by interviewers about their time there, though they ignored every single one by Maki's suggestion. It only made the mourning process much more difficult, being reminded every waking second of the torture they had been put through. All three of them had felt numb and depressed while also regretting the fact that they're giving in to what Tsumugi had wanted in the first place. Despair.

They had no clue where they were still. They didn't know how far away they were from home. They weren't sure whether they even had parents or family to go back to, if Tsumugi had done something to everyone's families, or if the motive videos were fake or genuine. The entire situation was confusing, but ever since they had escaped the killing game, they remained by each other's sides. While they didn't have their families along with them at the moment, they still had each other. It was better than nothing at all.

The trio decided they wanted to do something to hopefully ease the mourning process a little bit, possibly lift some of the despair they all had weighing on their shoulders. They strolled into a dollar store they found in a city on the unfamiliar path they were taking. The three looked around, attempting to find balloons and permanent markers around the store. At the far right end of the store were many balloons in small packs.

"Over there," Shuichi pointed, as the other two followed him to the mentioned area in the store. The three had a look at different packs of balloons as Maki had picked up a set of fifteen white balloons. It was a little extra than what they needed, but they didn't mind.

"I think there are permanent markers up the aisle," Maki spoke up, nodding her head in the direction.

The three made their way up the aisle. They could feel fellow shoppers' glances focusing on the three, but they did their best to ignore the looks they had been getting. They just wanted to get through their day without being bothered, especially when they wanted to do something special for the victims of the killing game.

As they inched up the aisle a bit, Himiko had found a three-pack of permanent markers, and she clutched them into her small hands.

"Do you guys think we should get more things, or are we done here?" Shuichi questioned the two girls by his side.

"We should get some string to tie to the balloons," Himiko responded, looking over to another aisle on the opposite side of the store.

"Good idea," Shuichi agreed, and they approached an aisle that was closer to the checkout desks.

There weren't very many options to choose from, but they settled for a small ball of yarn Shuichi had picked up. Shuichi grabbed a pack of three scissors as well from the same aisle.

"Are we ready now?" Shuichi inquired, the girls nodding their heads in response.

The three approached the checkout desk, receiving many sympathetic glances from the cashiers. Shuichi sighed. He did appreciate how people were caring and would frequently draw near them to deliver their condolences, however, it did get a bit tiring receiving so much pity. He hated the constant reminders, especially since so many people he cared about died right before his eyes. Though, as much as he wanted to forget his experience in the fifty-third killing game, he never wanted to forget the people he met and enjoyed some moments with.

It was their turn at the eighth check out desk, while the brunette cashier scanned their items. The cashier would every once in a while look up at the three, giving an awkward but apologetic glance. Once she had finished bagging up their things, the cashier cleared her throat as she whipped her ponytail behind her neck and muttered, "Six ninety-nine is your total." The cashier had been so quiet that Shuichi was nearly unable to hear the amount he was due.

Shuichi pulled out a newly-bought wallet he had gotten at a Target just a few days before, stuffed with twenty-three dollars a random person on the street had given them. He handed the cashier a five and two ones as she opened the cash register and handed him the extra penny. The cashier gave the back to Shuichi and the three stepped out of the store.

"Do you think we could find a park nearby where we can get everything ready?" Shuichi asked the two by each of his sides.

"Um, we could ask?" Himiko thought out loud.

Shuichi spotted a blonde man who looked to be in his mid-twenties about to walk into the dollar store. Shuichi shyly approached him, while the guy put all of his attention on Shuichi.

"Hey, I apologize for stopping you, but do you know if there's a park nearby?" Shuichi politely questioned the man.

The man looked as if he was thinking for a moment before he replied, "Oh, I'm pretty sure there's one about two blocks down from here. Just go up the street a little more and it should be on the right."

Shuichi gave the man a small smile along with a "thank you" escaping his pale lips, the man nodding his head down a little as a reply. Maki, Himiko, and Shuichi followed the man's instructions, and surely enough, they found a park with a few rusty swings, a metal slide, and a set of red monkey bars. They found a wooden park bench which was about ten feet away from the swings, and they all rested on the bench as they took out all of the items they had bought.

Shuichi sighed as he opened the package of different colored balloons. He handed four balloons to each girl, and the three blew up the balloons in their hands, followed by closing off the balloons by knots at the ends.

They were all extra careful as to not let them go as the wind began to pick up. The three opened the pack of permanent markers and began to write the names of all of the victims of the killing game on their balloons. They all decided who would write each name, and etched out every name onto each balloon they held onto.

Once they were finished writing, Shuichi cut out strings for the balloons from the white ball of yarn, and they all tied the strings onto all the balloons with the names.

They finished up the balloons, looking them over as they stood up from the bench they were resting on. Tears welled up in Shuichi's eyes as he looked at the names of the people on his balloons: Kaede, Kokichi, Keebo, and Korekiyo. He let out a tiny sniffle as he wiped the tears from his eyes with his sleeves. He looked over at Maki and Himiko, who looked as if they were about to begin crying themselves. Maki had prepared balloons for Kaito, Miu, Ryoma, and Rantaro, while Himiko had arranged balloons for Tenko, Angie, Gonta, and Kirumi. As much as they were tempted to make a balloon for Tsumugi, they decided against it as she was the cause of the despair and torture they had gone through which led them to this point.

They all looked at each other, while Shuichi let out a long, depressed sigh. "You guys ready?" Shuichi asked the two, who returned with slow nods. "Three, two, one..."

The trio released the balloons from their tight grasps on the strings, while the wind picked up heavily, whistling as it had traveled at a very quick speed as the balloons flew away into the sky, traveling to who knows where. That moment was when the three lost control of their emotions and began sobbing. They all wrapped their arms around each other in a group hug, tears streaming down their pale cheeks. This was going to be a very long process to go through, but as long as they had each other, they knew they could overcome the despair and pain which was brought upon them by Tsumugi Shirogane.

**Author's Note:**

> Find me at these places!  
> [Twitter](https://twitter.com/irisowari) | [Tumblr](https://irisowari.tumblr.com/)


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